It's that time of year again and I love seeing the fall colors around the US. Post up your pictures and videos.

Colorado has had a great year for fall colors with the warm temps and the timid climate (the weather is changing fast today). I told Katie we needed a break, so we loaded the family up in the Stinson to head south. Hooper hot springs seemed like a good destination for lunch and the Sangre De Cristo range has some great views from the valley floor all the way up to 14,400ft.

A little wind, low clouds and turbulence had us flying a non direct route, but we made the best of it. Katie really enjoyed relaxing in the pool and the food is top notch. We'll have to get a small group to head down there sometime in the future.

Just south of Pikes Peak


Sneaking across the Sangres


The Great Sand Dunes


Pool Party!


It has been a while since the whole family has went flying somewhere


Great contrast with the colors and the snow capped peaks


High glacier lake hidden within the steep slopes


Looking back at the dunes


Greens, yellows, oranges, and reds!


So, what does it look like across the rest of the country?

Great pics, Matt!!

Nice pics Matt, I always enjoyed flying over Colorado this time of year.

Nice pics Matt...wish I was in the mountains viewing the colors!!

Beautiful terrain Matt... but... uhhh... make sure your engine is running real good and reliable will ya? Ain't much in those photos that looks land-able in an emergency to my eyes.

EZFlap wrote:Beautiful terrain Matt... but... uhhh... make sure your engine is running real good and reliable will ya? Ain't much in those photos that looks land-able in an emergency to my eyes.

Thats because you don't have 31'' bushwheels!

I agree with you Bill and I always have in my mind where the best suitable spot is if/when a engine failure occurs. The Sangre de Cristo range is amazing as it rises 7,000ft above the valley floor within only a few short miles, a quick 180° turn will provide a safe landing at any point along the range. I feel much more threatened in the ID and UT backcountry where a engine failure could leave one with little options.

I was glad I could share this experience with my wife.

I did something similar yesterday. Took off from GXY with Molly dog in the back seat around 10:30 and headed up over the Poudre Canyon for a little bit, to see what the colors were doing there. Not all that spectacular, so I flew over to Estes Park and then up over Milner Pass--much prettier--then down toward Grand Lake and Granby. Borrowed an old cop car at Granby's DIY airport, drove into town for a sandwich, then flew home again by the same route via Milner Pass. The clouds were dropping a bit on the way home, but the air was smooth. Great flight.

Cary

Great pictures Cary. Was it windy on Thursday?

My flight was on Wednesday--didn't realize as I was getting the post on with all the pix that it was after midnight. Yeah, Thursday was windy, Friday was beautiful, and today it's rainy and breezy--typical Fall in Colorado, right? In fact, if I'd decided to fly in Thursday, it would have had to be local, and probably bumpy--no way I'll go into the rocks when it's windy on the flatlands!

Cary

The aspen trees and colors around Estes lately are amazing, but with the change of weather yesterday, winter seems to be coming soon, atleast in the mountains! This pic is of Longs just a week or two ago without much snow:

This morning I flew up near Eldora and Loveland ski areas to see the new snow.
Eldora:

Wolf Creek managed to open for the ski season yesterday with 36 new inches of snow from this storm, and Loveland had a bunch of their snow makers running to create a base with the recent help from mother nature! Up near the divide, Loveland Pass, and the ski area:




Entrance to the tunnel and base of Loveland:

How high were you in that Pacer? Must have been 14,000 or so?

Yep, I was flying at 12 for most of the flight, then hopped up to 14 when i was nearing the divide.

It looks like the colors went from yellow/orange/red to white pretty quick.

Great pics COkev.

How are the colors outside of CO?

mountainmatt wrote:How are the colors outside of CO?

Mostly brown in Nevada this weekend

It looks like the colors went from yellow/orange/red to white pretty quick.

Yeah, but still pretty.

Cary

And now the video addition to this thread.

Flying in Maine a couple of weeks ago, colors just starting then

Nice video MountainMatt. Really enjoyed the spectactular scenery. I love how your dog just jumps into the plane. My St Bernard tried that once and got stuck half way in! What a job getting her out!